Tag: African food blogger

 

Most West African dishes can be time consuming when preparing  , however the sacrifice is worth the amazing flavourful dish at the end.

I love blending various cultures in my cooking, ending up with unique and inspiring recipes. This stew is a blend of the Nigerian Ayamase and Ghanaian Tomato stew, (it’s that Ndudu twist thing).

I picked various elements of each dish to create this delicious recipe. I attempted  amalgamating the names , however it was a mouthful, hence my choice of an apt description.

The Ayamase sauce is made with Green peppers, locust beans, Onions, Crayfish and Chillies etc and fried in Palm oil. The Ghanaian Tomato stew is a blend of Tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic ,Onions , spices etc…

The blend of these two cultures produces a darker , well spiced, sweeter and glossy looking stew.

It’s advisable to prepare this stew in large quantities (due to its time consuming nature) and freeze for when a recipe requires it.

The amount of oil required for this stew is more than usual, however it’s  needed to fry the mixture into the required texture. Scoop off any excess oil and reserve it in the fridge, until a recipe requires it; e.g. making an Omelette etc..

Serves 6
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 2hrs 10 minutes
Marinating : 3-24 hrs

Mutton
Ingredients
600g of Mutton washed, cleaned and cut into sizeable chunks.                                              600ml of Beef or Chicken stock.

Marinade;                                                                                                                                 40ml of water
40g of Ginger
1 large Onion cut into chunks
1 teaspoon of Aniseed
3 cloves of peeled Garlic

Method
Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender.
Add about 40ml of water and blend to a smooth paste.

Mix half the marinade with the Mutton and fridge for a minimum of 3hrs.

The remaining marinade will be used for the stew.

Tip:
Marinating  the mutton overnight allows the spices to infuse perfectly into the meat.

Transfer the marinated Mutton to a saucepan and steam on a gentle heat for 25 minutes.

Tip

When adding stock or water, add a little bit at a time. This allows the meat to cook in its own steam and retains its flavour.

Add 100ml of  your preferred stock at a time and gently steam for another 30 minutes on a gentle heat. Once the meat is tender to taste it’s ready.

MUTTON STEW

INGREDIENTS

2 large Green Peppers

4 Green chillies

20g of Spring Onions

3 large sliced white Onions

60g of Tomato purée or paste

450g of blended plum tomatoes or tinned Tomatoes

The remaining marinade of Ginger , Onion, Aniseed and Garlic blend

30ml of Sunflower , Rapeseed or Coconut oil

1 large finely sliced Habanero chilli

1 shrimp stock cube (optional) or a tablespoonful of powdered shrimp or crayfish

Salt to taste

 

METHOD

Add your preferred oil to a Wok or Saucepan and place on a medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the sliced Onions and fry for 3 minutes. Add the steamed Mutton and fry gently for 7 minutes or until the meat browns.

Add the remaining blended Ginger mix and fry for another 4 minutes.

Blend the green peppers, green chillies, spring Onions and shrimp cube to a smooth paste.

Tip

To cut the cooking time in half microwave the green pepper mixture  and your blended Tomatoes for 10-15 minutes

Add the blended green pepper and chilli mix to the Mutton and fry gently for 15 minutes. Ensure you stir the mixture, to avoid it from catching to the bottom of your pan.

Add the Tomato purée , mix and fry for 4 minutes.

Note;

If you’re using crayfish or shrimp powder (instead of the stock cube);

Blend your tomatoes and crayfish or shrimp powder  into a smooth consistency.

Tip                                                                                                      Either microwave the blended Tomatoes to reduce its water content or use plum tomatoes which has less water content.

Mix everything together and cook for 25 minutes. Ensure you stir to avoid any burns.

Taste your sauce and if it requires any more salt add no more than a teaspoon of Sea Salt.

The stew is ready when the oil settles at the top and you have a dark rich marmalade consistency.

Let the stew completely cool down, scoop it into a container with its lid and refrigerate it overnight

 

Tip                                                                                             Refrigerate the stew overnight to allow all the spices to infuse. The stew it at its best when enjoyed a day after. Freeze any excess stew for no more than 3 months, until a recipe requires it.

This stew is perfect for making  Jollof rice , Spaghetti, Gari fortor, Gari Piñon etc

My next recipe will be using this Ghanaian & Nigerian fusion stew for Jollof Rice.

I guess the Jollof will be named GhanaNaija Jollof 😜

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